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1 In 5 Teens Has Suffered A Concussion, Study Finds

CBS Local — The University of Michigan has revealed a new study that will give parents even more concerns about letting their children play contact sports. According to their findings, one in five teens has suffered a concussion at some point in their life and the main cause was usually linked to participating in a sporting event, The Detroit News reported.

“This is the first blank study we have and the results were not shocking. It was expected. Some physicians will agree – we just never had that hard number and that’s what the study provides,” UM assistant research professor Phil Veliz said.

The nationwide “Monitoring the Future” survey looked at 13,000 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. For the first time in 2016, the survey asked children if they had ever been diagnosed with a concussion. Nearly 20 percent of the adolescents said they had suffered at least one concussion. Almost six percent of the students said they had been diagnosed with more than one in their life.

Pediatricians added that the new findings may be even worse than reported because some concussions are so mild the symptoms are not detected.

“After a head injury, coaches and parents should suspect a concussion when a child starts having headaches, blurry or changed vision, balance problems, and if they have lost consciousness,” said Dr. John Kuluz of Miami’s Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.

The study found that over 31 percent of students who played a contact sport the previous year reported having had at least one diagnosed concussion.

“Now we have a baseline number,” Professor Veliz added. “Let’s hope people are putting interventions in place at the high school level. We want to see this rate going down.”